White wins men’s halfpipe in dramatic final run

American Shaun White soared to his third career Olympic snowboarding gold medal Wednesday, overtaking Ayumu Hirano of Japan in his final run to win the men’s halfpipe final at Phoenix Snow Park in the Pyeongchang Olympics.

White, who trailed Hirano through two runs, turned in a gold-medal-winning score of 97.75.

Hirano, the Sochi silver medalist who qualified third Tuesday, took second at 95.25.

Australia’s Scotty James, who qualified second, won the bronze medal.

White entered Wednesday’s 12-man final as the top qualifier after scoring a near-perfect 98.50 Tuesday. He also won halfpipe gold in Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010).